No Boundaries: Degraded and Falling From Grace
by EnigmaXelQuan
Summary: 1 in series of 8. Vergil has fallen for the Princess of Vampires and isn't sure what to do. His best friend has a few issues of his own to deal with. Things just start to work out when everything starts falling apart around the tight-knit group of friends
1. Prolog

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Devil May Cry. That title and the characters in it belong to CAPCOM. The same goes for Final Fantasy VII and friends belonging to Square Enix.

A/N: If Vergil's personality seems off for those of you that have played the game that is because this is a Pre DMC3 fic taking place before everything goes to hell in a hand basket for the brothers.

**No Boundaries: Degraded and Falling From Grace**

**Prolog **

Darkness had fallen in the serene town… But the dark woods seemed to whisper with life of the unknown. The mere thought of the forest made humans new to White Fire Falls quiver in fear. Most of the people in this tranquil town never thought much of it because they had either grew up here or were not normal to begin with. This was the haven for all immortals and unique humans to reside when all other places shunned them away, and "normal" people criticized senselessly to harm the ego of something they would never understand.

Those who knew area knew all about the Azrael Forest and what was in it. There were certain parts inaccessible to anyone. In other words, those who did go in the forbidden areas didn't come back out. There were catacombs under the ground that went on for miles and large, beautiful graveyards everywhere throughout the forest. There was also the waterfalls that had given the mountain town its name. White Fire Falls was a series of enchanted waterfalls that started at the top of the mountain, flowing over the purest white stone, and came down into the Fay River that flowed through the middle of town. Half way up the mountain was the Royal Vampire family, the keepers of Azrael. A queen, Prince, and identical twin princesses.

One of the young Vampire Princesses wandered Azrael Forest in soundless steps, aimlessly… entranced by a vision only she could see. The soft, gray-feathered wings of her Goddess form protruded from her back, only inches from the ground, not yet fully grown into those of an adult's. The young teen's features were far from angelic though. Her eyes were silver, devoid of all joy, and her skin was as cold and colorless as the dead. Raven black hair cascaded down her back and feathered over her eyes while crimson tears streaked down her face.

Vergil Sparda stayed hidden from her piercing gaze for fear of his life, but kept her in his own the best he could. The October wind passed through the trees and blew the snowy locks of hair from his ice blue eyes and he brought a rifle up to aim at the pail figure. She was the one that haunted his dreams at night and in the process, slaughtered him each time. He feared her. He feared her power, and it was something that had to be dealt with.

His senses should have been on the rest of his surroundings though. Horrific shrieks erupted from behind the hybrid and claws raked down his back painfully. He gasped and cried out in agony, but still chose to fight. When he spun around he froze. There stood the demon, but that was the least of his worries. Directly behind that was his nightmare. The cursed girl stood there ever so quietly, waiting for something to move. Nothing moved. It was a standoff. All the demon did was make screeching sounds that annoyed the young female quite successfully and the boy just kept his stance, ready to fight if necessary.

The girl rolled her eyes "…Did you forget that you have a gun?" She asked dully, "If you didn't you should've pulled the trigger by now. Fool…" She trailed off and the msria lunged around only running into sharp, raptor like, bronze talons. Blood gushed from its jugular and the girl's nails sunk deeper, enclosing around its windpipe. The vampire's Quicksilver eyes burnt through its own amber ones as the throat was ripped away from the helpless demon's body. The msria collapsed to the ground, withering and gasping for air. The girl stared at the heap and gave a morbid smile. She took pleasure in the creature's misery and discomfort. Her hatred of these fowl beasts knew no boundaries and she wished them all dead, but she also knew that day could not come. No, wouldn't come, but she'd be damned if that were going to stop her from killing whatever demon stood in her way. She began to rinse the demon blood from her fingers in the cold stream when she realized her peer, shocked by the whole ordeal, was gaping at her. "Are you all right?" She asked, her voice soft and kind.

Still not yet ready to pass, the msria continued to make gurgling noises in its throat incessantly and reach for the girl's ankles. A loud crack echoed through the air sickly and revolting. Slowly, she looked up from the water to the heavy boot that had come down on the creature's head with a tinge of shock showing in her face, then to Vergil's face. There he stood clad in all black with a red and gold amulet hung around his neck. He was giving her an unreadable expression and she wasn't quite sure how to react to him. Was he going to kill her? Rob her? Or worse? So many questions and such little time. "Uh… um… h-hi."

"I'm fine…" Came the cold reply. He turned to walk away, but halted and winced at the sound of a shrill, panicked shriek.

"Oh God! You're bleeding!"

"Huh?" He reached to touch his back and returned with blood. "Well then, would you look at that… Hm. I would've never known." Vergil began to walk away again.

"Well let me take a look."

"No. I'll be fine."

The princess darted in front of him and placed a gentle hand on his chest to stop him. "I can help. Just sit down and hold still," She insisted. He did as she said so he did not aggravate her. She gently pulled off his torn shirt and examined the wound with a critical eye. Vergil heard a distressed groan and turned his head slightly.

"What is it?" He asked.

The girl gave a soft sigh. "You've been poisoned…" She stated slowly, "I can cure it, but that would mean," she stalled, biting her lip. "you would have to trust me."

"Okay?"

The space between them began to shrink as she closed in on his neck. She whispered into his ear, "Do you trust me?"

"…Yes." he replied.

"Then relax," Slowly she moved to his neck before sinking sharp vampiric fangs into his flesh. Vergil flinched a little, but soon closed his eyes to the new feeling. An unusual feeling gripped his senses and flowed throughout his body. She was only latched onto him for a minute, enough to remove a substantial amount of tainted blood from his body. Her hands crept down his back parallel with his wounds and he heard metallic scraping of a knife being drawn. Only then did he begin to tense again in preparation to attack.

"What are you doing?"

"Just wait." He shifted a little to see what she was up to. When he did he would never forget what he saw. There in the corner of his eye was an almost innocent looking young teenage girl. Deep, dark brown eyes that seemed to match the cold autumn ground concentrated hard on the knife as she drew it down her palm, nut brown hair falling into the autumn pools. She looked almost angelic she was so beautiful. The golden tanned skin and her strong feminine body stood out brightly against what she had been just previously. It was Jade, the socialite of their junior high school. The guys always hung around her, drooling practically, but she always turned them down. Maybe the rumor of her having a boyfriend was true. That would be disappointing. He would have liked to date her some time. Jade's slender hand brushing his silver hair out of his eyes brought him back to reality as she gazed into his icy depths thoughtfully. "How are you doing? Ya dizzy yet?"

The young hybrid took note that his head felt like it was swimming and nodded carefully. "Yes."

Jade smiled kindly. "Okay, that's normal. Here. Drink this, and be forewarned, it doesn't taste vary good."

"What is it?"

"Phoenix blood." She handed him the small bottle she had pulled out of her black cloak.

"What?"

"Just drink the damn blood!"

"Okay! Just take it easy." He studied the substance a little longer before downing it, then gagging. The blood taste was so overpowering that it was sickening.

The vampiress leaped in front of Vergil and drew a monogram on his chest in her own blood, whispering clearly, an age-old chant of her people lost among the modern world. "Pasaer thar eir pasaer air. Caes tia tar, caes tia vi. Koli ti mael. Aestali si pas. Cyr si tyri eil caer si caes. Caes sia veli shaerol ail ti. Shesol aer, thyjael myli. Tia pasaer caer eir Ai cyr. Aestali tia mael eil cyr ti tyri." She drew the knife across his hand and grabbed it with her own bloodied one. "Trust me." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, then his lips, pressing her free hand into the wound on his back, the gash in his hand beginning to burn as she did so.

He tried to pull away and shelter her from his pain, but she successfully held him fast as she kissed him slowly. When Jade released him from her embrace Vergil touched his back to see what she had done to him, but found the gouges in his muscles gone. His wounds were healed and the burning pain in his blood was no more. "How did you do that?"

"I can't tell you… only show you. But I don't have the time."

"I see…"

She hesitated for a moment, pondering her thoughts and studying his face. "You're Vergil, Son of Sparda. I've seen you at school before."

He paused, and then nodded. "And you are Jade Marie Lethal, Princess of Vampires."

"Indeed… I try not to throw that around too much. Not good for the reputation." Jade stood and held out her hand for Vergil so she could help him up, but he declined. The vampiress nodded and leaned up against a tree while she watched him for a while. "I should be going. I don't want to keep my brother waiting."

"Wait." Vergil stood and walked over to her.

"I'm sorry, I have to leave."

"No, wait. I think it's only proper that I thank you for your help in this matter, though my demon blood probably would have taken care of it."

Jade smiled and shook her head. "Not nearly as fast." She pulled an amulet from around her neck and slid it over his head. "Here… You can hold on to this for a while. You need it more than I do." She tuned away and moved fluidly into the darkness. "Good bye, Vergil. See you on Monday."

"Good bye, Jade…" Vergil looked on for a little while longer wondering what he was going to do about the girl, or even what he was going to tell his brother when he came home without a scratch and no evidence that he took the girl's life. The hybrid decided that it would be best to leave these matters for another day, slipped his shirt back on and walked back towards his home, not a sound to be heard from his wandering feet as dark, hungry red eyes watched his every move…


	2. Chapter 1: Sweet Revenge

No Boundaries: Degraded and Falling From Grace No Boundaries: Degraded and Falling From Grace

**Chapter 1- Sweet Revenge**

_4.5 years later…_

From a distance, Vergil watched Jade rub her temples to try and ease the stress and not rip the guy behind her to shreds. He was new to their school and this town, yes, but he had been hitting on her and driving her up a wall since he came to this town. Vergil didn't like it at all. There was a strong jealous streak in him that didn't like other men touching her, least of all a human rat like John. Victor Heart was the only exception as he was a gifted shaman and fighter, and he had been Jade's first boyfriend. John, on the other hand, seemed ignorant as hell to the fact that there were people – sentient creatures- that could kill him in the blink of an eye surrounding him on all sides. Vergil frowned and got up from his place by Victor and Dante to take a seat next to his troubled friend. "Hey, why don't you come sit with us? It's the last day of school for the year and it's Victor's birthday. Plus, there is not much you can do about the fiend behind you." He stroked her hair affectionately and smiled. "There is only a half an hour left before the bell rings. I'm sure you can hold out that long."

The princess looked Vergil in his icy eyes with her own currently crimson ones for a long moment, and then nodded. "Alright," She swung her training bag over her shoulder with ease and began to make her way towards the table of close friends when she heard a small piece of paper clatter into the chair she had previously resided in. Vergil picked it up and read it to himself, giving a look of disgust soon after. Jade grabbed the paper from him and read it to herself as well. _That rat bastard…_ She snarled softly, giving Vergil a glimpse of the smooth white fangs residing within her mouth, and crumpled the note in her fist. She leaned in close to her white haired friend in an almost intimate manner and whispered into his ear. "Watch this…" She kissed the spot behind his jaw and pulled out her battle knife, slamming it into the wooden chair between the human's legs as she turned and pinned him to the back of the seat with her free hand painfully. "Welcome to Eternity High, John… I guess I never introduced myself properly at the beginning of the year. My name is Jade Marie Lethal, Princess of _Vampires._ Just in case I didn't make myself clear the first time, I do _not_ make it a habit to date humans as annoying, ignorant, sickening and brainless as you! Now you may go home and tell your inferior little family that they need to leave town or I will make your life a living hell. This is a haven for the gifted, not the powerless and dependent mortals like yourself." Jade bared her fangs again and jerked the blade out of the wood, storming off to her original destination, leaving a traumatized human behind in her wake.

Vergil watched her go and then narrowed his now red eyes at the mortal. "If you even think of laying a hand on her, I will make sure you do not see the light of day again," then walked away to sit next the unhappy Jade. "Hang in there," He urged.

Jade looked at him silently with an unreadable mask over her face. "If you say that one more time I'm going to beat the shit out of you," She stated flatly. "Something is going to die before this day is up and it's not going to be pretty."

The older twin smirked and shifted in his chair for a more comfortable pose. Cool, soothing metal brushed against the muscles of his chest, reminding him of the gift Jade had given him back in the forest almost half a decade ago. Vergil pulled the pendant out from under his shirt and gazed at the intricate designs in its surface, brushing his thumb over it in a soft caress. The onyx gems gleamed up at him amidst the black designs that swirled around them.

He never did notice how Jade was staring at him with keen interest. "You never take it off, do you?" Her soft inquiry took Vergil by surprise and he looked up sharply, clutching the crest in his hand. He noticed that Victor was watching him discretely as well, still keeping attention on the harpy snuggled against his side. There was a gentle smile that tugged at the corners of Jade's mouth, but he never got a chance to say anything in response. The shrill screech of the final bell sounded the end of the school year and the Princess picked up all of her stuff, walking with Victor and Vergil out to their cars.

As she walked down the parking lot to her car Jade noted that the two best friends had fallen back. Commotion erupted from behind, and a pair of huge white wings enveloped her and drug her down to the pavement. Victor's low masculine voice shouted, "Dog pile!" and he leaped forward into the mass of familiar faces as well.

"No. NO! No dog pile! Augh! Hey! No biting! Damn it! Stop! Ow!" Jade growled and bit the offender back, being rewarded with a squeal. She grinned.

"Hey, Jade, you need a little help?" Her identical twin asked.

The vampiress growled and struggled against the others. "No kidding, Crystal…" Jade snarled. "A bunch of hybrids and a shaman to put up with, plus _you_, is not an easy task! Ouch!"

"Ouch, that hurt." Crystal's musical laughter could be heard with Dante's low chuckle as they stood off to the side. Vergil had already deemed he would have no part in this mess, nor did it amuse him in any way. "Okay… okay, but you do know that your pets like attention and you shouldn't ignore them, Right?"

Sunny growled and lunged at Crystal. "PET?! Just who are you calling "pet"?"

"Okay! I take it back! Bad angel! Bad!" Vergil did laugh then, a soft, gentle sound that played on everyone's heartstrings. Laughing was something that didn't come easily to either him nor Victor.

Someone honked the horn of their car and yelled profanities at the group of friends having a brawl in the middle of the parking lot. Jade stood up and dusted her self off before throwing a rock at the man's car –cracking the wind shield- giving him a threatening glare. "Beat it, Andrew, or I'll rip you to shreds like I did that last demon." Then she walked down the parking lot towards her beloved '07 Challenger again. She chuckled darkly to herself as the mage sped away at her threat. Her and her friends hung out around the school parking lot for a while, waiting for the crowd to clear out. Remembering what day it was then, Jade pulled a large package wrapped in all black with red ribbons out of the back of her car and handed it to Victor. "Happy Birthday Vic. And thanks for the dog pile."

Tara's face lit up with joy. "Hey! Somebody remembered! I wanna open it! Can I open it?"

"No. No touchy… bad harpy." He held the package out of his girlfriend's reach with near perfect balance as she practically tackled him trying to get it.

The redhead gave him her best puppy face and said, "Aww… Come on! You know you love me."

"Yes, I do," He confirmed. "But this is my birthday… I'm the mortal here. My years are limited and I want to enjoy every moment of them." Victor leaned forward and kissed her tenderly, making her silent for a moment.

Her soot colored bird wings twitched with contentment, fledgling feathers dislodging and drifting down from the jerky movement. "…Good point. HAPPY SEVENTEENTH BIRTHDAY!"

Jade laughed and let herself be pulled into the shenanigans, singing _Ring Around the Rosy, _a song that they found morbidly amusing, with Tara, Sunny, Crystal, Courtney, Chris, and Steph while they danced around the cars. Jade was the first to stop and join reality when she walked over to see what Victor thought of the gift. "Well? How do you like it?"

He pulled out a few things like finger armor, candles, incense, and other gothic attire, and then looked at the keys on the chain she gave him. "Are these…" Victor hesitated for a moment, looking at her anxiously. "Are these house keys? And car keys?"

Jade nodded. "To the castle. We have you a room all set up, to your liking of course. And I've been working on a car for a long time for you… your favorite." She smiled gently, showing what little emotion she generally allowed. "You're my blood brother, Victor. You deserve a place to go to get away from being reamed out and beaten by your dad and step mom." She held up her hand to show a penny sized scar on her palm, reminding him of their pact. "Besides, you know I hate those bastards… I about killed your father. He tried to rape my twin sister! I don't want you living in that damn house of theirs any longer. And those imbeciles call them selves your parents? Look how they treat you!"

"…I know." Victor hugged Jade tightly. "Thank you, so much, Jade. You're a lifesaver... Literally."

The princess smiled up at him and tapped him on the end of the nose. "Vergil helped, too. His birthday present to you. He did most of the work in your room."

Victor glared at his best friend. "I told you not to get me anything…"

The blue clad twin smirked mischievously at the Goth. "I didn't get you anything. I only helped fix up a room at Jade's for you… and bought accessories for it."

The shaman narrowed his eyes again. "Smart ass."

"Now now you two. Behave and don't try to kill each other because of this," Jade lectured. "I've got to bail now. Don't miss paintball today. See you guys there." Jade said her good byes and ducked into her car, but not without Vergil stopping her first.

He leaned down by her window and spoke low enough so only she could hear. "Jade, is everything alright? You seem upset. Is it John?" The warning in his eye said someone might die if that kid was causing her this much distress.

Jade shook her head and looked into his eyes with her pained, summer-hazel ones. He saw right through anything she was about to say to head him off from emotional subjects, so settled for truth. "No, it's not him. I could care less about that fleshbag. I'm just having some internal dilemmas. I just need some time to think it off." She gave a slight smile and pressed her hand to his heart. "Drive safe, Vergil," she whispered and began pulling away and heading home. All the memories she had tried so hard to beat down to oblivion began rushing back to her, biting and nagging at her, destroying the mask she had so carefully erected over her emotions continuously, forcing her to rebuild it once again.

She turned down an old deserted road that seemed haunted and dark as the bloodied tears came. Nobody liked the road, humans at least, and that is exactly why she _did _like it_… _It gave her a chance to think things over, and rebuild her emotionless mask. She remembered vividly what she had seen when she found her sister cornered by the man that claimed to be Victor's father. She remembered the crack of the man's bones as she made firm contact with his rib cage.

--

_Jade walked around town looking for her sister. It wasn't often that Crystal just stopped answering her phone. When that happened something was usually wrong. "Crystal?" Jade began to make her way down an old beaten path that lead to the old Magre house. The residence had long since passed away, but the princess could sense life inside of it as she approached. "Crissy, are you there?"_

_"Get away from me!" Someone screamed._

_The princess looked up at the house with panic set into her elfin features. Her feet were set into motion by the instinct to protect her family and she burst through the door. What she saw burned itself into her memory for eternity. Mike, Victor's father, was towering over Crystal's slight form with a baseball bat and his pants open. The terrified fifteen-year-old's shirt was torn open, exposing her soft skin marred with bruises from the bat. Jade growled demonically in her throat and slammed her shoulder into his ribs, knocking him to the floor. "You son of a bitch," she hissed and pounced on the human._

_He tried to struggle her off from him, but failed. So instead, he smacked her in the back of the head with the bat, stunning her temporarily, and rolled her underneath him. From there he began to try and tare off her thick leather battle outfit. "You're mine," He chuckled darkly to her._

_She almost gagged on the sent of alcohol on the man's breath. "Not today," Jade growled as she planted her knee in his chest and flipped him over her head. As he slammed into the floor like a tone of bricks Jade's knee continued to sink into his chest when she followed him over her head and put all of her weight into his sternum. Jade grinned darkly when she was rewarded his anguished cry of misery, the pain rendering him helpless. "You will repent for your sins, human…" She jammed her knee further into his chest with her preternatural strength, causing a sickening crack of bone and another anguished cry to reverberate off the walls of the abandoned house._

_Walking along the path with his best friend, Victor looked around for any signs of his blood sisters. It didn't help when neither one left tracks for him to fallow, but he still had senses that most humans did not. The shaman's head snapped up at the sound of misery and pain coming from the house. "Did you hear that?" He asked Vergil._

_Vergil readied Yamato for a fight and nodded. "I did. It sounded human... male."_

_Victor flexed his hands slowly and made his way to the house with caution. Gods forbid he would have to deal with a demon tonight. He heard a smooth, vampiric voice blended with demonic tones speaking in angry whispers inside the house, and then came another pained cry. He held his finger to his lips for silence from Vergil, who nodded in agreement, and pulled out a black and silver .45 from his coat. Up against the door like that of a well-trained soldier, Victor opened the door and rushed in. He almost shot his blood sister, thinking she was a demoness attacking an unsuspecting human, though that wasn't far from the truth. Then he looked over to his left at the fear stricken Crystal, with her dark makeup mingling with red tears down her face. Victor grimaced and put the gun away when he put two and two together. With all of his strength the shaman wrapped his arms around the princess's waist and hulled her off from Mike kicking and screaming. "Jade, calm down! It's me! Victor!" He kept one arm locked around her abdomen tightly as she began to slump to the floor in defeat, heaving with angry sobs. Victor knelt down with her and stroked her crimson dyed hair lovingly. Vergil was already tending to Crystal as Victor took in the disheveled room. "Jade, tell me what happened. I need to know."_

_By now Jade had already turned to huddle against her ex-boyfriend's chest and cry out her lingering frustration. She looked up at her blood brother with crimson glazed eyes that still harbored plenty of rage to burn a hole through a normal human's skull. "He tried to rape Crystal," She acknowledged slowly._

_Vergil looked up sharply at this. "What?" he practically growled._

_Victor ignored him and stood slowly, his rage building so quickly that it surpassed Jade's and had him nearly shaking with it. At this point he recognized the man's face all too well and he no longer looked like a fifteen-year-old from the back streets of south White Fire Falls. Victor walked towards Mike with careful steps, being sure not to give away his intentions. Relief spread across the human's pained features as his son came to him. "My son, I knew you would come around one day," He whispered hoarsely._

_The dark clad hybrid's frosty eyes widened as he watched he best friend's normally dark brown eyes fade into a deep, violent red. "You wish," He growled in a voice that mixed with a demonic undertone not his own. Victor jammed his boot into the man's already broken ribs and forced the pathetic heap to look him in the eye with a controlling spell. "You sick fuck…" the words came out smooth and calm, yet etched with dark menace as the alleged demon spirit within him spoke in unison. "You had the guts to even touch my sisters, let alone approach them without my knowledge or consent?" He gave a snort of repulse and then a humorless smirk that was gone as soon as it had come. "You make my stomach turn…" Victor pushed down harder with his heavy foot causing a sickly crunching sound and then pushed off, purposely making sharp, head-splitting pain shoot through the man's body. "I hope you burn in hell. Come near my sisters again, I'll kill you. Got that?" There was no response. Victor snarled, showing canines like that of a wolf's replacing his normal human incisors. And then he grinned… a grin so demented that even Vergil questioned Victor's humanity. "No?" Victor hand glowed with a bright violet energy and he twisted it as if he were ripping something out of Mike's body. The human screamed in pain as some invisible force wrenched on already broken bones. The man hastily confirmed Victor's words with a weak nod of his head. "Good. Now get the fuck out of here." The man nodded again and stumbled away, broken physically and mentally._

_Victor was still shaking with rage when the pedaphile had long since vanished into the night and Vergil rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay now, Victor. He's gone." Victor still looked on at the wall with his crimson eyes as if he didn't hear a word that was said. An ash color pulsed over his skin and the ghost of wings wavered in and out of sight. "Victor?" Vergil prodded._

_The shaman snarled silently at something only he could see, slight incisors flashing in the dim light, and glanced at Vergil with his dark red gems. "Is it okay if Nicholas and I stay at your place tonight? Things aren't looking good for us at the moment." Vergil only nodded and walked over to Jade to see how she was. Her cloths were slightly disheveled, making him a bit suspicious, but other than that she was okay. Crystal clung to her twin, never really looking at any of them while she held her shirt closed._

_Jade stared after Mike with venomous hate and promise. If she ever saw or sensed him in her territory again, he was the new chew toy for her demon wolves. She was sure they were getting board of the bones she was buying them. The iris of her eyes were still blood red long after Mike had staggered out of sight, but now they were trained on Victor with skepticism. He had nearly turned into a full-blown demon, yet she could feel that he was completely human. That was next to impossible! "Victor, what the hell just happened?"_

_He shook is head. "I honestly don't know. But I'm guessing I'm stuck with it for a while." The shaman shifted his crimson eyes over to the redhead momentarily before returning his attention to her purple haired twin. Victor shrugged out of his coat and pulled off his shirt, exposing the multitude of scars is father had given him, helping Crystal put it on to cover her soft pale skin and dark bruises. Before he put his coat back on he flexed the digits of his right hand experimentally, watching the invisible metal plates click as he did so. They could all hear the soft sound, but only Victor could faintly see the ghost of brass plates decorating his hand and forearm._

_--_

Jade shook the image from her head and came back to conscious thought when she found her vision taken up by the grill of a truck instead of an empty road. "OH SHIT!" She swerved to the right but the truck swerved with her, hitting the accelerator and broad siding Jade's smaller car with intended force. The shrill scream that she gave sounded as if it could shatter glass when something that resembled sharpened spikes pierced her abdomen deeply and a burning sensation made itself known. _Holy Water? _She screamed again as the offending substance entered her veins and scorched through her body like a hell fire. Minutes later she thought she saw a man drive by on a bike, royal blue trench coat fluttering behind him, the wind tugging at his moonlight colored hair. Her consciousness was slowly slipping away as her white haired friend came to mind. "…V-Vergil?" . Jade paused for a moment in her mental call, trying to block out the pain so she could speak. _Vergil? … Vergil, help me, please! It burns! _And then she blacked out…


	3. Chapter 2: A Dark Knight's Son

**No Boundaries: Degraded and Falling From Grace**

**Chapter 2- A Dark Knight's Son**

Victor's drive home was silent with Vergil gliding along side him on his royal blue bike. He couldn't help but think that something was seriously wrong. Every time he glanced into the rearview mirror his eyes were flickering from darkness, to red and back to darkness again like a machine gone haywire. They soon pulled into his drive and parked there. Victor rested his head on the steering wheel and closed his eyes. The sorcerer knew when Vergil was standing at the car door and didn't give him a chance to say anything. "Since that incident two years ago I've been completely different. I have these visions that I can't explain, so I just lock it all up inside. I don't know how much longer I can take it, Vergil," He confessed.

The hybrid gave a remote look of concern and rubbed the back of his neck, not sure what to say. "Would you care to share this burden now? You're my best friend… You know I'll listen." _At least it's something…_ he thought.

"They don't make any sense…" He continued. "They are incoherent and blended together. I see myself, but not like I usually am. Killing, kidnapping, torture, guarding, interrogation. Some organization called the _Turks?_" Vergil quirked an eyebrow at this, but Victor didn't see. He just continued to spill all that was on his mind. "War, blood, slumber, awakening, experiments, pain and sadness, resolve, silence. Damn it, I can't sort it all out! It's like it's not even me." He looked up then, his eyes flickering again. _That's not good, _the hybrid noted to himself. "And they keep calling me by a name that isn't my own… The keep calling me _Vincent Valentine._" There was a strong note of confusion in his voice.

Vergil considered this for a moment. "You know, everyone knows you look _nothing_ like your father. Maybe this is a connection," he offered.

Shaking his head, Victor got out of the car slowly and began towards his house when a sharp pain pierced his side and caused him to collapse to the unwavering cement. Vergil was there to catch the shaman's arm before he knocked himself unconscious. Victor's body convulsed with another wave of pain and he cried out in agony. Visions and voices came washing over him. Some his own… and some not.

_You make my stomach turn…_

_You were a mistake!_

_He tried to rape Crystal_

_NO! He's just a baby! Let him go!_

_My wife… is dead? No… this can't be happening._

_A single father with identical twin sons? How do you manage?_

_Victor, what the hell just happened?_

…_Help me…_

The words stood out against all others. Jade's voice here and now in the present. _Help me,_ it echoed again. "Victor? Hey, are you all right?"

Victor shook his head to clear it, his spasms subsiding so he could breath. "Yeah," He nodded. "I think so. I need you to do something for me." Vergil cocked his head, waiting for the request. "Fallow the rout that Jade took home. Something doesn't seem right."

Vergil helped his best friend to his feet and nodded. "Anything else?"

"Let me know if you find anything," Victor added. Vergil nodded again as his frosty eyes turned hard and serious. The blue clad twin tore out of the driveway like a bat out of hell and headed for the direction Jade had taken.

---

As he drove on, the dark twin couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom as he neared Fathoms Road. It was haunted and everyone knew it. He found Jade on that old road more than once. Last time was on her birthday last Halloween. She had been crying, yet she never said why and that bothered him to this day. Vergil turned on his chosen road and was immediately assaulted with the stench of burning fuel and, worse yet, flesh. Then he saw the smoke boiling up into the clear blue sky, blocking out the sun like night. He growled to himself and sped faster down the road, crouched low over his bike. He only glanced at the two collided vehicles, enough to see what the looked like, as he drove on. Then he started putting two and two together. _Brand new Challenger… Mike's beat up old truck… oh no. No good can come from this._

He was spinning the bike around and racing back towards the "accident" before the plea for help even hit his conscience. _Vergil, help me, please! It burns! _

_I'm here… _She didn't respond this time… Must have blacked out. The bike skidded to a halt, letting the blue clad demon stare in disbelief at the seen before him. The old truck that had broadsided the smaller Challenger had large spikes conveniently rigged to the bumper and they were driven into metal and soft, pale flesh... flesh that was not suppose to be pale. There was a staggering, drunk, older man poking at her unconscious form with a pistol. "NAA-HAAA! I got yoouuu! Bitch!"

A memory flitted across Vergil's mind, of the possessed Victor pinning the man down with his boot, causing as much pain as possible to the pathetic heap. Words echoed through his head in the memory. _"Come near my sisters again, I'll kill you. Got that?"_

There was a humorless laugh in his mind. _Oh there's going to be hell to pay when Victor finds out what Mike has done…_ Jade whispered.

Vergil ignored her and approached the mad man. "And just what do you think you are doing?" He growled, eyes flared red in anger.

The man gasped and shot Vergil in the in the heart. Didn't stop… He shot at him again. This time Vergil displaced, then reappeared right in front of the drunk, backhanding Mike across the face hard and knocking him out. The gun clattered to the weathered pavement and fired off a shot into the unknown. Hopefully there were no wanderers out and about right now.

Vergil glanced at the heap on the ground and shook his head. No one could kill the man unless Victor permitted it. Mike was not supposed to be the problem of the shaman's friends. Sighing, the hybrid wedged himself in between the car and the truck, and shoved the larger vehicle away, being rewarded with the sound of life in the form of a pained scream. He spun and ripped the door off revealing the silver/red/black haired Goth, face twisted into an expression of pain, showing immaculate white teeth and sharp venomous fangs. Vergil was taken aback by her beauty, but kept his mind on the task at hand, cutting the seat belt with Yamato and gently lifting her out.

"Ah! Son of a-" She growled. "…Put me down. Please…"

"Hang in there, Jade. I must get you to the hospital. You're losing too much blood."

Jade groaned a mix of disapproval and pain as Vergil set her down on the bike, holding her to him as he took off. The lurch of the bike sent sharp knives of pain through her body. The vampiress groaned again, starting to sway with wariness as the pain died down to a dull ache. She was overwhelmed with the memory of her father's death… every vivid detail coming back with vengeance. There was heart-wrenching sadness, a strangled scream, then she was alone… Lost in complete darkness once more.


	4. Chapter 3: Simple Confessions

Disclaimer: I do not own DMC, Final Fantasy or Castlevania! Everything else is mine...**  
**

**No Boundaries: Degraded and Falling From Grace**

**Chapter 3: Simple Confessions (or are they?)**

Warm evening light shined into the window to kiss Jade's face with an orange glow, making her tanned skin look like living bronze. When she opened her hazel eyes she came face to face with a white ceiling. Her brows knitted together in confusion. _What the hell? My room's not white,_ She thought. Then the unsettling thought of being in a Funny Farm came to and was soon pushed away. _I'm not that crazy…_ when she tried to lift her arms to push herself up someone's fingers tightened around hers and shifted their weight slightly. Curious, Jade looked over to her left to find none other than Vergil Sparda nestled into the available space on her bed, sleeping soundly.

Further survey of the room told her that she was in a hospital and that not only her family was there to worry about her, but Tara, Victor, and –of course- Vergil were there as well. All of whom were sleeping. She smiled softly at the scene of her other two friends. Victor was sleeping silently and, no doubt, very lightly with Tara huddled comfortably in his arms with the Shaman's head resting on hers. Jade shook her head and lay back down facing Vergil, running her free hand through the white tufts of his hair. Like she would ever admit that she had a crush on him. That's like a bum falling in love with Apollo. Besides, they were just friends, right? Jade shook her head and rested back down on the pillow.

"You're awake," came Vergil's low voice. The vampiress nearly jumped off the bed from his break in silence. Her telepathy picked up on Victor's mental laughter and Vergil's slight amusement at her startled reaction. She growled and smacked the demon in the arm. Victor seemed mentally at easy with her show of life and drifted into a more content sleep, leaving Jade and Vergil alone. "My apologies. I didn't realize that I would startle you," he offered. "Are you hurting at all?"

Jade shifted around a little to check and then shook her head. "No, just a little tender." She hesitated and then turned away from her white haired friend. "What day is it?"

The hybrid couldn't see her face, but he could still feel the concern in her. Vergil sat up and wrapped his arms around her waist. A bold move, he would admit, but it would comfort her, or rather he hoped it would. "What do you remember about the accident, Jade?"

"Spikes… the holy water, pain, and a truck that looked suspiciously like Mike Heart's," she stated carefully.

There was a long sigh that escaped him when Vergil let go of her and gazed out the window. "That's because it was his truck. Jade, you've been unconscious for three days."

Sunlight glinted off from her eyes as Jade tried to figure out what it was that he found so interesting outside, but already knew that he wasn't staring at anything. He was just staring… at nothing. "What's on your mind? I'm okay, we can all see that, but why do you look so down?"

Vergil didn't answer her question. "Dante's gone out to get something to drink for everyone. He should be back relatively soon."

This caused Jade to frown at Vergil, but almost on cue Dante walked in with a bag in one hand and a Styrofoam cup of what smelt like Pumpkin pie to Jade. _Must be Vergil's Chai Tea…_ Jade thought. "Rise and shine, everybody!" Like always, Vergil's twin had a huge mischievous grin on his face. He saw no wrong in waking everyone up so noisily. For the most part Victor was already awake. "Verg, snap out of it! I brought your damn tea." Reluctantly, the blue clad demon got up from his spot and took the burden from Dante. "Freak," Dante muttered under his breath.

Then he took out a glass bottle of ice tea for Victor and hurtled it at him, or Tara was more like it. Victor's hand snapped out just in time to stop the projectile from colliding with the beauty's face, his eyes finally opening, but as crimson orbs rather than brown. "If you're going you throw glass bottles at someone's head throw them at mine, not Tara's. Unlike her, I have experience with glass bottles being thrown at me."

Everyone in the room flinched when he said that. They all knew it was true and it was a very sad fact too. "We know, Victor," Vergil stated softly. "At least you protect your brother from the same fate."

At that time a little brown haired kid with big, dusty green eyes came running in looking around excitedly. "Mommy! Daddy!" He half screamed and rushed over to where Tara and Victor resided, scurrying nimbly into waiting arms and snuggling against the two teens. "Miss you, daddy."

Victor grinned amusedly and his demeanor softened incredibly. The sight all together was comical. Victor was no small guy in stature, and to see this two-and-a-half year old running around with his trench coat and Submersed beanie was just hilarious. But the Shaman just chuckled and wrapped his free arm –Tara occupying the other- in a tight hug. "I missed you too, Nick." The toddler giggled contentedly and took the bottle of ice tea that his "father" offered.

"So what's the verdict on Mike?" Dante prodded his friend.

"He's getting off, easy. For now anyway," Victor replied with a slight bite to his voice.

Tara picked at her shedding wing feathers nervously. "What are you gonna do?"

Victor shook his head. "Nothing yet… I'm waiting him out. He's not going to be around much longer with the amount of hard liquor he drinks." Victor held Nicholas to him protectively as a glimpse of something passed through his psyche. "Unless he draws the last straw. Then I'm going to be the last thing he sees before he goes to hell…" The Shaman growled darkly. It was unnerving, but they all knew what he meant. All save for the innocent little boy snuggled in Victor's arms.


	5. Chapter 4: Breaking Point

**Chapter 4: Breaking Point**

"All right, I'm going to head on home. Nicholas is looking a little tired out." Victor said as he bent down to hug Jade tightly. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Yeah, I hear you. Take your own advice for a change."

Victor just chuckled softly and walked off towards town with the boy resting sleepily against his shoulder. Vergil nodded a silent goodbye as he passed and came to lean against the stable wall with Jade. "Something is bothering you."

Jade glanced up at him for a moment before returning her gaze out over the moon lit field. "Nothing is wrong."

"You're ignoring me, Jade. I think that would indicate that something is wrong."

"No… You were ignoring me." She corrected.

Azure blue eyes shifted to the ground in an icy, self-loathing gesture. He knew she was right in this instance. He leaned he head back against the sun-warmed stones and closed his eyes. "I know… Victor pulled me off the side earlier to have a little chat involving my inner turmoil… and yours." Jade didn't look away from the murder of crows perched in a nearby tree. "Look, Jade, I'm sorry I was being so cold and ignorant earlier. It was wrong of me and I can assure you that Victor got on my case about that."

The vampiress sighed heavily and pushed off from the wall. "I'm use to being ignored, Vergil… Especially by you, but when I think one of my friends are having trouble I want them to talk, not jam it all inside their heads to stew." Jade peered up into Vergil's eyes searching their secretive depths. "I would like it if you filled me in on what sort of malfunctions are going on in that complicated head of yours."

A scarlet tinge crept up his neck and into his face but he kept his stony, emotionless mask on. "I will admit that I have developed certain feelings towards a goth that I see as far out of my league."

"Well, who? I might be able to help." Jade chirped happily.

"I'm looking at her…" For a moment Vergil thought that Jade might faint. He complexion had drained into a pasty gold rather than the vibrant tan that it had been just moments ago. "Jade, are you all right?"

The vampiress wasn't sure of what to say. "I-I thought it was the other way around." She was about to look away but noticed something unusual about him and narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you blushing?"

A wolfish grin spread across Vergil's features and he pinned Jade to the stable wall to crush his lips against hers. The vamp yelped in surprise and squirmed at first, but her shock gave way to desire and soon found her fingers delved into his hair. When he finally pulled away he took pride in her flushed features, knowing the cause. "Are _you_ blushing?"

She was blushing furiously now, almost to the point of a tomato. Jade growled and punched him in the shoulder. "You bastard!" She hissed.

Vergil laughed lightheartedly and hugged her to him as a sort of apology. "So, will you be my lady?" He asked in a cautious, but hopeful note.

Jade thought for a moment as if considering her answer just to make him squirm, then snuggled into his warmth with a content sigh, smiling up at him brightly. "Yeah, I'll be your lady," She whispered.

* * *

Silence was the only thing that filled Victor's ears as he lay there in bed unable to sleep… mostly. There was also the occasional breaking bottle and string of drunken curses. This was Victor's home life, and he loathed it with every fiber of his being. Not that there was much he could do about it. He couldn't move his and Nicholas's belongings out till Monday when Mike and Shelby were gone to Seattle to see family that hated him about as much as his "parents" did. Shelby wasn't even his real mother… She was his step mom and mother to Nick.

Because of those two though, Victor never got any sleep here. It was impossible and absurd. Falling asleep in this house was like signing your death warrant and handing it to the devil in his eyes. The only time he slept was when he crashed at either Tara, Jade or Vergil's place. Mostly at Vergil's since Eva treated him like the mother he never had. It was to the point that Victor even had his own room with a crib for Nicholas and his more expensive belongings stored there. Victor got the distinct feeling that those items were no longer there now, but at the surprise suit of rooms that his friends had decorated for him.

The Shaman sighed and returned to staring at the blank, white ceiling. The blankness of it was enough to drive a man insane, but Victor just assumed that he was more different from humans than he though or he was far beyond loony… maybe a little of both. But would a mentally challenged person admit that they belonged in a Funny Farm? Probably not… Thus that would make him sane in a weird sort of logic. _Great… now I'm confusing myself. I need to stop thinking so much or I'm definitely going to end up in the loony bin._ As if responding to his thoughts of thinking too much, a pain seized his skull and darkness overcame him in a sharp, abrupt void.

**_-Vision- _**

"Hurry! Before it collapses!" Someone screamed at him. It was a race against time, it seemed, with the sun rising in the east and their safe haven entrance threatening to collapse any moment ahead. _I'm almost there, _he thought. _Just try and keep up, Vincent._ Victor clambered up the mountainside with the agility of a cat with the red cloaked figure trailing close behind. "Come on!" The woman screamed again.

_**You must hurry, Victor. There isn't much time.**_

_Shut up, Dwyer. I know what I must do. _Victor growled as he trudged on. They were almost there.

_**Victor! There's a sniper to the south! **_Victor spun around, his senses flared, but he turned too late. The ballistic projectile came whizzing through the air soundlessly towards an unknown victim. Time slowed down it seemed when the sickening thud of a bullet meeting flesh resonated through the Shaman's ears. Crimson eyes met shocked and mortified hazel ones. The red cloaked man wore an equally shocked and identical expression as he looked down at his chest. A slow, creeping river of blood began to spread across his chest above his heart. He winced slightly and coughed up a spurt of blood… he couldn't breathe. Victor took a sharp intake of breath. "Vincent…?" A wet, choking sound escaped the man's throat as he fell forward. "Vincent!" Victor shouted and was there to catch Vincent from cracking his skull on the rocks. The red cloaked man bled profusely all over as the Shaman tried to stop it. He looked around frantically to find the shooter but it was no use. Another bullet came hurtling at them and landed itself firmly in Victor's left shoulder. _**Victor, there is no time for this! Get up and drag him if you have to!**_ Victor's formless demon snapped at him. The Shaman growled more in frustration than pain and hulled Vincent to his feet, the general in him taking over. "On your feet, soldier! Come on! We've got to keep going. Don't give up now. Think about Raven, bro. She needs you!" Feeling a twinge of guilt at actually trying to give up on life despite his freshly restored love for the enigmatic vampiress, Vincent grunted in pain as he forced himself to move forward with the help of the only just injured Victor.

As they reached the trembling entrance to the crystal mines a horror-stricken look crossed the raven-haired woman's face. "Look out! He's behind you!" Her body lunged forward to protect her friends from the inevitable fate.

The glint of deadly metal caught Victor's eye and he shoved Vincent into the woman, knocking them back into the cave. In the same instance he had turned and stepped into the space where Vincent would have been ended… Where he was about to be ended. The said blade pierced his abdomen, causing him to hunch over in pain. The assailant's face was blurry and incoherent. " "…Worthless," the man hissed and shoved the sword deeper…

* * *

Victor woke in a cold sweat aching all over and breathing erratically. He felt different… Like something in his life finally clicked into place. "Vincent…" It all seemed to fit now but so much more was missing and completely mixed up. "Who are you, Valentine?" A child's scream cleaved the stale air of the house and a string of venomous curses soon followed. Panic rose up in Victor's chest unbidden. "Nicholas!" The Shaman went bounding out the door and down the hall in search of his brother. "Nick!" Victor called again.

A haggard woman radiating the stench of malt liquor jumped out and tackled him to the floor. "Got you, ya cracked out freak!" She cackled and tried to claw out his eyes.

"Get the fuck off of me, Shelby," Victor growled and flipped her over his head, not bothering to see if she was hurt by crashing into the wall. He was on his feet and down the hall again running towards the sounds of the distressed child. (He would never be able to understand what was going on when he walked into the room and had no desire to do so either) The first thing Victor's crimson eyes settled on was the weeping toddler cowering by the front door. Mike was standing over him with a lead pipe held high. "No…" Without thinking –just as a father would- Victor leaped forward and knocked Nicholas out of the way. Everything went numb when the pipe made contact with his skull, yet everything hurt at the same time. The vibrations of the blow reverberated through his entire body it seemed.

Victor collapsed to the floor in a heap, his vision fading out and bordering unconsciousness. "Daddy!" The boy screamed and scampered to the Shaman's side. "Ge-up, daddy!" There were tears streaming down his chubby cheeks. Something shifted in Victor's psyche when the blow radiated through his brain, and another confused and panicked entity sounding much like himself prodded at him profusely. _What the hell?! Get up! Get out of there before he kills you! _Crimson eyes snapped open with clear vision as the adrenaline pulsed it's way through Victor's veins and jolted him into motion. Victor knocked Nicholas out of the way while rolling towards Mike to avoid the pipe. The bludgeoning tool slammed into the floor where Victor's head would have been and splintered the wood. Before the drunk could make another attack, training took over the Shaman and he snatched the lead pipe out of clumsy hands. With his new weapon, Victor spun around swiftly and slammed it into the backs of Mike's knees. Heart fell back and knocked himself out on the coffee table, giving Victor and his kid brother the time they needed to leave the vicinity.

* * *

Blood ran freely down the side of the teen's face and streamed from a desecrated tear duct as Victor drove. Not the smartest move in his current state, he would admit, but it was faster than walking. The new entity in his head wouldn't leave him alone for fear of Victor losing consciousness and kept asking random questions to find out who the Shaman was. It was driving Dwyer mad from what Victor could tell. The formless demon entity didn't like other people prodding Victor's mind as it was, but to have another connected to the goth through psychic bonding was just not expectable. _**Please, make him shut up, Victor. He's as bad as you are on caffeine.**_ Dwyer half begged.

_Dwyer, he's just trying to help me. Lay off and stop being so territorial about my head. It is _my_ mind after all._ Victor replied dryly. He really wasn't in the mood for the demon right now.

The onslaught of questions still didn't cease and half of the Victor didn't answer. He knew the guy was trying to pry some information out of him such as his name and the sort. Not that any of the interrogating worked though. Victor was too well trained for this sort of thing to give anything away. _You aren't going to tell me, are you…_ the voice sighed, somewhat exasperated.

_No,_ Victor said. _When I decide to inform a complete stranger about my fucked up life, you'll be the first to know. _He added sarcastically.

_You have a dull sense of humor…_

…_So do you. What's your point?_

Dwyer would have rolled his eyes if he had any. It was kind of hard when all you could do was provide new powers for your host and give them advice –or just talk in some cases-. _**You both lack a sense of humor… now pay attention to the road or you're going to send you and your brother to a fiery death that I cannot prevent.**_

The entity didn't hear Dwyer and just continued to question. _Well, could you at least give me something to go by?_

Victor thought over this for a long moment. Shockingly enough, no one had ever given him a nickname. He was always "Victor". The Shaman bit his lip lightly. _Chaos… Yes, you can call me Chaos. It's fitting of me._

The seemed to sate the guy's curiosity somewhat and he ceased his assault of questions for the time being. _Well, Chaos, I think you need to pull over before you wrap that car around a tree. You don't seem too good right now._ Victor refocused on the road and pulled off to the side. Grabbing Nicholas as he got out of the car, he stumble up the grassy slope to what he thought was a house. He no longer had any idea where he was going by now because the adrenaline had finally worn off. His mind was too clouded by pain and darkness to hear the voices or to even know if he was actually at a house. The black void of unconsciousness tugged at the edges of Victor's vision and he fell to one knee. "Go Nicholas… Get out of here," He whispered hoarsely. The child whimpered and dashed out of sight reluctantly as Victor finally fell face down into the cool, soft earth to succumb to the bliss darkness.

* * *

Music blared from Dante's room mercilessly as Vergil tried to answer Jade's questions about a photographer that they were trying to book for senior pictures over the phone. We need to get booked tomorrow morning or else get our pictures done in time for the yearbook."

Jade sighed heavily. "Vergil, it is morning… It's 2 a.m."

"You know what I mean." The doorbell rang loudly through the house, tarring the two from their current debacle. "Victor must be here." Vergil walked out of his room to go get the door.

The bell began frantic ringing like a mayday in Morris code. "I've got it, Vergil. You can go back up and keep answering Jade's questions about the Photographer." Vergil just nodded to his mother and walked back into his room, leaving the door open this time. Eva flipped on the yard light and opened the door. At first she didn't notice anyone. "Hello?"

"Nana!" A little boy darted into the house and clung to her leg desperately, hiding his face against her thigh.

Eva pried him gently away and looked down at him. "Nicholas?" The boy's face was streaked with tears and splattered with dry blood. His arm had a bruise on it like he had landed on something hard. "Vergil? Could you come here, please?" Eva called as she grabbed a Mag Light off from the shelf and walked out onto the sidewalk with Nick still clinging to her leg and sobbing, frightened. The loud _clip clop_ of her slip on's signaled her approach if there was anything out there. "What's got you so upset, sweetheart?" Her flip flops ceased their incessant noises as she padded out into the grass and down the hill a ways. The blond could hear Vergil talking to Jade as he came down the stairs to see what she wanted and turned to glance at the open front door. When she turned back around the beam of the flashlight landed on the figure. The woman screamed and dropped the flashlight into the grass.

Vergil and Dante had both heard the shrill cry and came rushing out ready to fight to the death with whatever had caused it. When the got down the hill they found Eva kneeling on the ground covered in blood with Victor's limp form resting against her chest. She was holding him to herself like she would have if it were either of her real sons and weeping pain-filled tears. As far as she was concerned, Victor _was_ her own son. Vergil and Dante stood there and stunned, horrified silence. "Vergil, What's going on? I heard Eva scream." Jade inquired.

"I… I think you need to get over here… quick," The blue clad devil whispered into the phone. "Victor is in really, really bad shape right now. Call Tara and tell her parents to come pick up Nicholas, please. I'll talk to you when you get here." Vergil then hung up the phone and hefted the toddler into his arms. "Dante, go call an ambulance. I'll go take care of Nick and get some towels for Victor." Dante didn't say anything. He just grabbed the phone from his brother and began dialing. Vergil headed back into the house and up to his room. _This is bad…_he thought. Victor had shown up at their doorstep bleeding before, and he had the horrid scars to prove it, but nothing like this. He's never been unable to make it into the house before. _What went wrong? Why is my friend dying?_ The hybrid thought as he set the sleeping child down on his bed. There were tell tail signs of violence on the boy's features, but none were from being abused. The splatter of Victor's blood across his face and neck said it all. "He was protecting you again…" Vergil concluded with a knowing yet mournful nod and left the room quietly.


	6. Chapter 5: In the Shadows

AN: Ha! I have finally updated and edited this chapter! If you have problems with the scientific terms then I can't help you because I forget what most of them mean. :(

Disclaimer: When was the last time I did one of these? I don't own DMC or FFVII. As you know, the rest is mine. Hope you all enjoy this chap! R&R please! love you all.

**Chapter 5: In the Shadows**

"It's been two weeks! Isn't he healed yet?" Tara half growled as she paced back and forth in front of her boyfriend's hospital room. God she hated the color white. Was it even a color? _No… it is the absence of color,_ she told herself scornfully.

The doctor shook his head and smiled. "Not very patient are you, Tara? Victor has sustained severe trauma to the head as I'm sure you know, though you most likely don't know the details." Doctor Stephen held a couple of black sheets up to the light board. "This one here was the x-ray taken when he first came in. Here you can see where the Zygomatic, Ethmoid, and Sephinoid bones were completely destroyed. Also the Parietal took severe damage. The frontal took less damage than the rest luckily for him. Amazing thing is nothing else was damaged aside from blood vessels in his temple. This could have killed him if proper actions were not taken though." He stood back from the board and gazed at it critically. "This much damage concentrated in a small area wasn't caused by a fall or anything like that. It was something narrow like a baseball bat. No, not a bat… More like a pipe… lead I'd wager."

Tara nodded slowly. "How bad is it, really? Will he be handicapped from walking or anything like that?"

He chuckled slightly and clipped up another x-ray. "Again you are jumping ahead of the game. This one was taken just yesterday morning…" another sheet. "And this one only a couple of hours ago. It seems that his body his healing at an inhuman cellular-regenerative speed. He might even wake up today."

Acid green eyes widened and her features became bright and happy again. "Are you serious?!" The harpy made to dash into Victor's room.

"There is a couple more details you should know, Tara." She halted at the door in mid step and turned slowly to the Topaz eyed man. Stephen ran a hand through his pale blue hair. "First off, there may be some complications that he might vary well have for the rest of his life. Phantom pains, color blindness… Maybe both." The teen gave him a slight nod of understanding. "The second thing is those tests Victor wanted done. You know, the Testing he asked to be done on him to determine his humanity and parentage. We ran the tests and the results were shocking and not so shocking."

Tara's face held a puzzled look. "What do you mean? I don't see how that makes any sense."

"We ran the parent test with the records we have of mike and Samantha and they came back negative. No surprise there. How ever, we also ran the test with the records of a Jane Doe that was brought in the same night he was allegedly born and came back positive. Other than that, he has no father on this planet. The records went around the world and we got nothing. He's a man without a father and a mother without a real name. Someone came in and took the body for burial after she died though. We don't know where it went or who took it." Stephen Xedigar ran another nervous hand through his hair. "Victor's genetic code and levels are a whole other issue. It's like nothing I've ever seen before! It's human, but there is so much more… like he was an experiment or something."

Silence hung between them like a heavy weight. The expression written across Tara's face was of genuine concern. "What do you know, Stephen?"

Pale blue wings tucked in close to Doctor Stephen's body as he crossed his arms uneasily. "Two thirds of his blood plasma is made of… of something. I really don't know how to describe it. It's almost like… Like it's made of souls. It calls to a vampire like an omen… creeps me the hell out. And there's some sort of minor cell growth of alien matter in parts of his circulatory system. Cells that have nothing to do with his body and are not human. By the locations of which it was found we think it was introduced to his body. From the total analysis we took, it was introduced at a very young age. We think he may have been a newborn at this time. The cells help him heal small wounds, like cuts and bruises, but other than that they are inactive and have nothing to do with how fast he healed." Stephen thumbed his way to a page in the file he had pulled out of the patient box. "There really is no explanation as to why he healed so quickly. Just this phantom gene that runs through his entire code. Only half of it is active and that has only been for the past couple of years." He looked up at Tara skeptically. "Do you know of anything that may have triggered this gene to become semi active?"

Tara shook her head. "You would have to ask Victor. He tends to keep to himself-"

"Doctor, Mister Heart is awake. He's asking for his girlfriend," a nurse said, effectively breaking the conversation. Tara and Stephen couldn't help but notice the sharp bite to her voice.

"Alright," the vampire nodded for Tara to go in before following.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Victor paced silently in the darkness of the trees watching the figure in the small clearing. They knew one another were there. Victor always kept to the shadows and stayed behind the stranger. This was the plain of conscience that he and Dwyer had met on in his early years, but this time he was in the shadows… And some how, so was the stranger. "Who are you?" The man called, "Where are you?"_

"_I could ask the same thing…. But I'd rather not know. Not even I know who I am. I figured the name Chaos would content you." Victor replied in a soft, empty tone._

"_I guess you were wrong…"_

"_I guess I was," his aging eyes flicked to the ground thoughtfully. "But I can't change that, now, can I?"_

_The entity spun to where he thought Victor might be, but the shaman had already moved to a different location. "Look, why can't I see you? What are you afraid of?"_

"_How did you know he was about to attack again?" Victor asked to get off from the subject of his life._

"_You didn't answer my question."_

"_I'll answer it after you answer mine." There was no emotion in his tone. Just smooth even notes._

_The entity slumped his shoulders in defeat. "I… I don't know how I knew. I guess I could feel it… and your pain. It all happened so suddenly that I fell in the middle of the hallway on the way to the kitchen. I couldn't see what you saw. Just sense it."_

"_I see…"_

"_Now will you answer my questions?"_

"…_Yes. I don't wish for you to see my scars. It's not a fear so much as it is a shame." Vic offered._

_Victor felt the disgust rise in the man. "From what… or who?"_

"_Does it matter?"_

"_Yes," came an angry whisper. "I believe it does."_

"_They're from the man who claims to be my father…"_

_There was an audible growl of barely kept rage that made Victor wonder what he had done to anger the man. "No… not a man. He's a monster. The lifestream would reject him on the spot if there even is a soul there."_

_Victor gave a gentle chuckle. "What do you care, entity? You barely know me. I should be no more than a bother to you."_

"_Would you stop that! You're a teenager just like me. Stop acting like you're some old man." He snapped._

"_I never had a child hood. I never knew the joy of being young. I tried to kill myself when I was ten and just happened to be saved by a certain woman that has been more of a mother to me than anyone in this world. No offense to Akasha and Sheryl. When I was fifteen I was given my little brother to care for. I'm the only father he has."_

"_Where is your mother?"_

"_She left when I was five with some rich guy. She wasn't much better. In fact I think she was worse. My father was the one that cared till she left. Then he got hooked on liquor."_

_There was a long silence before the entity sighed and sat down in the grass. "One last request before you wake up?" Victor remained silent. "Let me help you. Let me at least try."_

_Victor leaned against a tree gazing into the forest. "We shall see, my friend… we shall see."_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------_

The daylight filtered into the room and forced Victor into waking. Not that he needed motivation… He just wanted to see his son and Tara. A nurse nearly jumped out of her skin when he sat up swiftly. "Mister Heart, you're awake!" She chimed brightly. "How are you feeling?"

Victor completely ignored her statement and looked her steadily in the eyes. "I would like to see my girlfriend, please…" he requested in a gentle tone. This seemed to ruffle the Nurse's feathers slightly considering that she was one of many of the girls at school who were jealous of Tara. _Well let them be jealous. Nothing short of death is going to make me give her up._

_Well isn't that sweet._ The entity commented sarcastically.

Dwyer remained silent with Victor, just choosing to ignore the crude remark. When Tara walked in Victor was completely awake and very alert, chocolate colored eyes snapping over to her slender form almost instantly. "Come here," He said in a kind, but slightly troubled tone. She looked awful. It didn't seem as if she had a minute of sleep in ages.

Tara frowned as she approached the bed. There was a thin white scar marring the perfect golden tan of his skin that traveled from his temple to his cheekbone. There was not even a bruise left on his face. Tara sat down on the edge of the bed and took the hand he held out for her. "Hey, how is the great Victor Heart feeling?"

He smirked. "Like I've been hit by a truck." Victor's arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her down against his chest. "I'm fine, Tara. You can stop fussing now. How is Nicholas holding up?" _So your name is Victor then?_

_Shut it. _"He misses you a lot considering that you've been down for two weeks. I didn't want him to see you while you were comatose." She looked up into his eyes and frowned again. "Victor, your eyes are getting lighter."

The shaman nodded and hugged her closer, brushing off the eye comment. "Doc, how bad off am I?"

One of Stephen's elegant powder blue brows rose in inquiry. "You could go home right now if you wanted to. The only thing I want to warn you about is the possibility of minor color blindness and/or Phantom Pains."

Victor nodded, but his psyche picked up on the unease in the vampire. "There's something you're not telling me." He stroked Tara's hair unconsciously. "It's about the testing I asked for isn't it…"

"Heh, you cut right to the chase, don't you?" Victor just gazed at him impassively, causing a chill to run up his spine. Stephen wasn't sure if it was just himself or if the Shaman did it on purpose. The doctor guessed the later considering that Victor's eyes had rapidly gone from brown to a crystalline ice blue. "Well the good news is that you are in no way related to the Hearts. The bad news… we don't know who your family is. We found no matches."

Ice blue eyes narrowed threateningly and ghostly blue-white stalactite fell from absolutely nowhere next to Stephen's feet. "I don't like liars, Stephen. I've had to deal with that for 17 years now. Who is my real family?" He growled.

Another shudder. "Um… there is one that is no better off than you. She was a Jane Doe that didn't have any identity with people on this Earth. Just a picture. She was taken for burial before we could do any more testing."

"Jane Doe?" Victor ventured.

"She died from blood loss. There were numerous incisions in her abdomen and chest. We couldn't save her." Stephen noticed the saddened disappointment in the young Shaman's features. "Ya know, we have a picture of her that came with the body if you would like to see it." He handed Victor the picture from the file gingerly.

Victor took it into his hands and stared awestruck at it. The woman had brilliant blue eyes and golden skin. Her hair was an angelic nut brown, holding an unruly beauty within the long ringlet curls. In the picture the woman had so many similarities it was scary. "This is her?" She was at least six months pregnant and clinging to the arm of a man with the very same brown eyes and silken ebony hair that Victor had.

"Yeah. We call her Shiva. That's the name on the back of the picture."

Silence passed as he kept staring before tarring his eyes away and handing back the photo. "Just tell me that I'm a demon and get it over with."

Stephen frowned. "That was a rapid change in subject."

"I'd rather know that I'm some demon clone of someone and not an orphan."

"That's part of the problem considering your DNA says you are directly related to this woman. You are an orphan." Stephen sighed. "Your codes are human… Kinda. You have a double latter in your DNA. One side is human but the other side is not anything I've ever seen and it's only half complete. Any other animal on this planet only has one latter of DNA."

Victor stared at Stephen blankly as the vampire began to go about his whole spiel on Vic's genetics. _He's trying to confuse you with all of those scientific terms. My father does it to me all the time,_ The entity offered. _Ask him to speak an understandable language._

Dwyer seemed to perk up at this. _For once I agree with the fiend._

There was a pause on part of all three of them, waiting for one to start speaking. Victor had yet to say anything to either of them since waking. A strong jostling of his bones made him twitch and Tara squeeze his hand comfortingly, but other than that nothing moved. _He hates me, doesn't he?_ Came the sudden thoughtful question.

_Who?_ Victor countered.

_That Dwyer guy you're always talking to. I haven't heard a single respectable comment out of his head yet._

_Oh, shit… I didn't know you could hear him too._ Victor smirked. _Don't mind him… Dwyer just doesn't like sharing my head with others._

"-hemoglobin." Victor looked up sharply at Doctor Stephen. _Well, so much for the briefing on my Molecular Genetics,_ He thought grimly. "You weren't even listening were you…"

"Let me see the data report," The Shaman rattled off nonchalantly. _What!?_ Both Dwyer and the entity exclaimed simultaneously. Victor ignored them both and took the offered papers. As he flipped through them his mind was processing the data by the second like a machine. "So… I have 30 chromosomes instead of 23 on the incomplete half of my DNA strand, but the complete half is normal. Now my blood count for red and white are prefect, but my plasma on the other hand is only one-third water. The other two thirds are made of a foreign substance. Souls is more like it as you had noted off to the side here." Victor glanced up at the doctor to confirm his abnormal intelligence. Stephen gave a dumbfounded nod and Tara had a Cheshire grin of affection on her face. "Now some of my blood cells are infused with some sort of alien matter that grows with time." _You sound like a darker version of my father the more I have to listen to you,_ The entity groaned. "So what you're trying to say is I'm some sort of crack-job's experiment and that you don't know who the hell my parents are? Thus I am a Freak of Nature. I should have just been put out of my misery the day I came here."

Tara turned in his arms and glared angrily at her boyfriend. "What!? No! You are perfectly fine just the way you are. No one can change that. If they try I'll eat them!" She giggled softly and brushed his unruly locks of hair out of his eyes, giving a light kiss upon his forehead. "You belong with us. We're all freaks here."

Victor shook his head and smiled. "Always the optimist. Though I'm not sure eating them is the best answer." He kissed her slowly and pulled her back down against his chest more securely this time. "I am nothing without my fire red queen."

"And I am nothing with out my snow white king," Came the soft, innocent reply.

Dwyer was kind enough to stay silent but the other was hounding with teenage male curiosity. _So who's the lady?_

_My girlfriend… Don't get any funny ideas. Now who the hell are you? _Victor hissed.

The entity seemed slightly taken aback by Victor's dark display of aggression and tried to push past the barriers and into the memories. Victor was unyielding however. _Vincent Valentine,_ he finally offered.

Victor stilled both mentally and physically, slamming his mind shut against both Vincent and Dwyer. "Where is Mike now?" He asked softly.

Stephen looked away and out the window for a moment, then back at him. "He left… for Azrael Forest, my friend."

Victor nodded thoughtfully and looked down at his hands. "What about my mother? Do you know where she might be buried?"

There was another audible sigh before Stephen turned to face Victor fully. "She might be in Silence Ventriloquism. It's an old Cemetery near the peak of the mountain next to Élan's Reflection. The hospital tends to send the nameless ones there. You'll see why..."


	7. Chapter6: Soul Wrought of Terror Corrupt

A/N: Okay this is the first chapter out of four where you start to see the mystery behind Victor unfold. Also Vincent Valentine begins to play a major part behind Victor's transition. This is pre Turk Vincent mind you. Vince is only 18-19 in this story. And when you see Vincent's lines start to show up in a quotation, that means that his vision is synchronized to Victor's.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Final Fantasy VII or Devil May Cry.

**Chapter 6: Soul Wrought of Terror Corrupt**

_Click… _Victor slid a clip into a 45. _Click…_ Another clip, another gun. _Thump thump… thump thump…_ his heart beat steadily. _Victor, you have me a little more than concerned. What are you going to do? Seriously, what's going on?_

Frosty eyes flicked up to the mirror of his new master bathroom. _I don't want you in my head when I find him. I don't know what the hell I'll be thinking._ Pyro and Frost paced restlessly about Victor's legs growling every now and then, both sizable creatures ready for the hunt.

Vincent mentally flinched at how cold Victor's words were. Surprisingly the growl of the demon wolves didn't bother him in the slightest. _You're going to kill him aren't you…?_

Silence passed as the shaman contemplated on his answer, splashing cold water on his face to clear his head. Little beads of water dripped down his face and hair accentuating the crystalline blue of his eyes. He didn't want to answer that question, but what was the point in ignoring the guy? Vincent's question was more of a statement anyway. _Yes…_ He finally answered. _This planet has harbored his evil for long enough._

Vincent wanted to grab Victor and shake even a shred of sense into him. _You're about to become a murderer! Stop and think about what you are doing!_

_I'm serious, Vincent. I'm trying to protect you from this. Why I give a damn, I don't know, but don't be in my head when I find this prick. _Victor would have turned away from the mirror had it not been for the splitting pain that shot up his arm. When he looked down at his right hand in mild surprise he noted the blood trickling from his _unharmed_ knuckles. "What the fuck?"

There was silence for a moment as a rubbing sensation brushed across the skin and made Victor's hand twitch in pain as if he'd been the one to punch a wall. _Now that I have your attention, will you listen to me? You specialize in magic and all, right? Do something so I can talk to you face to face. _

"Bastard," he grumbled finally and went into the bedroom to find his spell book. As he flipped through the pages he wondered if he really wanted to see Vincent face to face. At the same time he didn't want to listen to the guy hounding him either. "Think the Gemini charm will work? It's only supposed to work on twins or clones."

_Well if it only works on twins or clones then I'm not too sure of it. Unless you are a clone of me or something then, no it probably won't work,_ He acknowledged.

Victor refrained from saying anything and slipped one of Tara's pens between the pages to view it closer later. He flipped to another he knew of and sighed in frustration. "For the Binary Vista you need a black mirror or reflection pool, seven blue candles and a drop of your own blood. Also what you want to see must already have happened in past tense. I don't think that's what you want. There is an advanced version of the Gemini charm called Deathless Zodiac Vista, but I don't think you want to be stuck with me for that long. It puts the caster in the position of carrying the soul they cast it on within themselves as if it were their own, creating an eternal bond between the two even after the spell is countered or undone."

There was a silence on their mind link and then he heard Vincent heave a sigh. _The first one then…_ Victor nodded, rolling his eyes and went back into the bathroom with the book in hand. He wouldn't be able to see Vincent. Vincent was only going to be able to see what Victor was looking at. Not the other way around… If the charm worked that is. Taking his pentagram out from under his shirt, the shaman began to chant silently, in vampire tongue, the words of the spell.

_A brother's love_

_Connect with me_

_Be bound to Gemini_

_To be bound by sight_

_Vision of your element_

_A drop of your opposite_

Victor produced a lighter and sparked it off beneath the pentagram in his hand. The pent lit up like a sparkler and little waves rippled out from its center glittering like the cosmos. Still, his concentration never broke.

_Behind your eyes_

_You see no more_

_Falling into darkness_

_Behind my eyes_

_Connect with me_

_You will see much more_

Pain seared through his head, his eyes snapped shut involuntarily and his legs gave out. The confusion was overwhelming for both of them and tears began to seep out of the corners of Victor's eyes. His left eye wept a trail of blood from a desecrated tear duct. "_Victor! What's going on? Was that supposed to happen?"_

"No," came the silent reply as he regained his footing and stood slowly. "Are you all right Vincent?"

"_I'm fine now, I think. Can't see anything though. It's all black."_ Victor squeezed his eyelids shut more firmly trying to shake off the remnants of the pain as he turned to the mirror.

"See if this helps," When his eyes opened there was a complete unnerving silence while Vincent stared through Victor's eyes into the mirror.

"_This has to be some sort of joke," _he laughed nervously. "_I-I don't look like this. I've never touched my hair with dye or dressed like that."_

Victor glanced down at his hand then back at the mirror. "That's because it's not you… it's me. I tell you what… you can stay in my vision while I search for Mike just as long as you don't bug me about how wrong it is to kill him. He tried to kill my son. I know you enough to know that you aren't going to try and stop me now with that fact on your mind."

There was a pause before Vincent mentally nodded. "_No, I won't. You'll talk to me later though? Face to Face? You're bleeding by the way…"_

"Yeah, I got it. I'll tell you everything you need to know." Victor turned away from the mirror while wiping his face with a washcloth and walked back out into the bedroom where Tara was sleeping peacefully. The king size bed made her look so much smaller than she already was that he just had to smile sadly. How could she love a train wreck like him? Only the gods knew the answer to that question. When he sat down on the bed she gave a soft groan and hugged her pillow tighter. The shaman passed his fingers through her crimson hair and then over her cheek. "Sorry for what I haven't done yet," he whispered into her ear and kissed her temple.

Pain shot through his head again causing him to clutch at it fruitlessly. The tears of misery came again and he hung his head between his legs. _"Maybe you should be taking a rest rather than killing people."_ Vincent suggested. _"Better yet! Cuddle with your girl. It'd be great and you'd get your rest."_

The shaman shook his head and looked out the French doors to the balcony into the rainy night. "Vincent, as appealing as that sounds, I'll never be in shape enough to do this. It's now or never." The rain began to pour outside as time passed. "This has to be done, my friend. If not, then who else will he kill? It's obviously not beyond him to kill a two-year-old child."

Any sane person could feel the rage and cold resolve building within Vincent. _"I want to be there," _he finally said. _"I want to see him die… For your son he must die."_ Victor nodded thoughtfully and turned for the door to the next room. _"You like black, don't you…" _Vincent stated flatly.

Victor strapped the gun holsters hanging by the door to his thighs after clipping the weapons belt to his hips. "That wasn't random at all… If you have lived the life that I have then you would too." He slipped into the next room after donning a trench coat and sat down on the edge of the small bed where his baby brother lay, still awake. "Hey there, kiddo, why aren't you sleeping?"

"You didn't say good night, daddy," the boy said simply.

The teen chuckled and opened his arms. "Come here and give me a hug," he said gently and Nicholas practically tackled him. Victor returned the embrace and laid the child back in bed, giving a soft kiss on the forehead and tucking the blankets in around him. "Good night, Nicholas." Sleep claimed his boy soon after and Victor was free to continue his campaign.

"_So… is the kid really yours?"_

"No," Victor stated lightly as he opened the french doors to the balcony. "He's Mike's… Mike and Shelby didn't want him, so I took him in." Pyro and Frost leaped the stone railing and began bouncing down the lower balconies. Victor hopped the railing himself much to Vincent's dislike and plummeted down three stories of castle, landing nimbly in a crouch on his Pegasus's saddled back.

As Victor settled into the demon hide saddle Vincent sent a string of curses his way. _"Don't you ever do that again… What if you missed?"_

"You forget that I'm not normal. Ride!" Victor spurred the vampiric beast into a run for the mountains. The trip was long and grueling for the one who wasn't technically there. For the young shaman on the other hand, it was liberating and refreshing. The rain plastered his cloths to his skin and poured through his dual colored hair.

Only a half hour and he was at his primary destination. Silence Ventriloquism's gate towered over him majestically. Not a term most would have used for a cemetery, but Victor was not most. He glanced at the black Onyx walls that surrounded the grounds and frowned. "Pretty well kept for being the land of no names, don't you think?"

Silence claimed them both for a moment while Vincent took in Victor's visual. _"It looks like some place where a celebrity or something might be buried. Not blank gravestones."_

Victor nodded and urged Vamp closer to the gate. The beast flapped his wings agitatedly when a mysterious wind whipped around them and the massive iron gates opened with a low groan. Something in his head told him to follow the path to his right. A demonic feminine voice that soothed and pulled his inner darkness to the forefront of his mind… His eyes faded into a bloody red and narrowed as he followed the voice. "Mother?" Vamp's shoes made scraping, clopping sounds as he progressed slowly with the entranced Victor on his back. As they neared the source it grew more sporadic and confusing, like hundreds of voices trying to speak at once. Victor got down off from his steed and approached the crypt that it was coming from. There was a soft, green colored orb imbedded into the entrance pulsing ever so slightly. The shaman wanted to touch it, but drew his hand away when it seemed as though it were reaching out for him. He looked at the name and message carved into the obsidian door.

Shiva

- - 1990

Soul wrought of terror corrupt

Quelling impurity purging the stream

To beckon forth the ultimate fate

Behold the mighty Chaos

Omega's squire to the lofty heavens

Curiosity took him into the crypt and slowly through the iron gate separating him from his mother's resting place. It was not at all what either of them expected. There was no coffin… no coffin intact that is. What use to be a rough oak casket lay in desecrated pieces on the floor along with chunks of the stone alter that it had rested on. The floor, walls and ceiling were covered in a thick layer of vines, which had also claimed what appeared to be a pillar in the middle of all of the destruction. Victor narrowed his eyes at the pale green glow that peaked through the dark leaves of ivy and crept closer pulling out a small dagger from its sheath. "What are you hiding?" he whispered to himself as he began tediously cutting away the foliage to reveal a portion of the glowing crystal pillar beneath.

There was still much too clear away to reveal the entire jewel but only a peek was needed at the moment. Looking within, they saw a Demoness-like creature with Drow skin and brass colored armor and talons on her left arm. Similar colored armor covered her chest and womanhood from view. Crimson wings were limply outstretched and her face was upturned and sleep claimed. The hair that was suppose to be unruly and brown from the picture was now black and spiked like an angry wolf's hackles, a brass spiky headdress completing the look. There were curious scar looking marks on her face that almost glowed in gold coloration. _"What the hell is that?_" Vincent demanded.

Victor stared at the woman like a kicked puppy, not particularly ready to admit he was a demon. Demons didn't honor their dead like this. This was too glamorous for their taste and demons never kept a solid form after death. "That is my mother…" The shaman placed a hand on the crystal and wondered what was to become of him now that he had his biological mother. "I need to talk to Vergil. He might be able to help me out. The kid absorbs info like a sponge, and if he doesn't know, he finds out quick."

"_Hey, now we're talking! I kind of want to find out what that thing is."_

"Shut up." Victor silently crept up to the stone entrance and listened for something he thought he heard. Vamp was backed into the darkness out of sight and making agitated noises to try and get his rider's attention. There was something up further into the cemetery… screeching and bloodlust. Pyro scratched at the door and growled angrily, pacing around his master's feet. Victor rolled his eyes and shouldered to door open as quietly as he could. The two demons slipped outside into the misty rain and waited for his order. "Stalk, but don't hunt." The wolves took off for the ruckus covertly as soon as the door shut behind Victor. He followed stealthily with a longer knife hidden flat against his wrist ready to engage in battle. In the clearing near the lake there seemed to be a small mob of Troglodytes fussing over something or another. Victor hid the knife away into his belt and approached. The reptilian people separated for him to watch what was going on, but closed in behind him. In the center was a single Troglodyte ready to butcher a pair of baby dragons. Victor grimaced and knocked the stone cleaver out of its hands placing himself between the dragons and the Trog. "Leave them alone. They couldn't have done anything to hurt you. They're only hatchlings."

The assailant cackled and looked up at Victor. "Human, you do not belong here, but if you insist, we will kill you too."

Vincent laughed nervously. _"I think you should listen to what it has to say."_

_No can do, friend._ The teen tapped into his Shaman strengths to send out and array of icy projectiles, killing some and stunning others. He used this chance to scoop up the two limp dragons and mount Vamp on the move. As they traveled out of the cemetery, a pack of _large_ black wolves were seen moving in on the Troglodytes, followed by ear piercing screams as the reptilian people were slaughtered. "Dire Wolves? There haven't been any of those in centuries."

"_Clueless,"_

"Never mind. We have to find Mike and get this over with." Pyro and Frost came loping after them, obviously content from the carnage. It didn't take long to pick up on Mike's trail. It appeared as though he might have gotten spooked and dropped his pack. "Get him," Victor ordered. His wolves let out a haunting howl and rushed for the scent. Vamp followed at his own pace, content on taking his time through the woods. Victor urged him on a little faster after looking over the baby dragon that was still in his arms. The bigger, healthier of the two had since came to and left the protection of the shaman's arms, taking to crawling all over him and the Pegasus, continually coming back to check on the little one. The little white hatchling was barely clinging to life on the other hand, obviously unable to defend itself from the Troglodytes or much of anything else for that matter. There was a loud scream coming from a nearby cavern beneath the old falls, indicating the demons found what they were looking for. The black dragon hissed and scurried back down to hover over the little one protectively. "Easy kiddo. Nothing to be afraid of," They edged around the waterfall and into the cavern. Inside was the very menace that he had secondarily left the castle for. "Well well… What have we here? Did you really think you could hide from me after that shit you pulled?"

"N-no! I'm so sorry, Victor. Please, don't hurt me! It was the alcohol that did it, not me!" Victor gave a low growl as he set the hatchling down on the ground and pulled out the knife in his belt. "I'm your father, Victor! You wouldn't kill your own father, would you?"

The silence passed with a slow agony for Mike as that blank, crimson stare seared through his body just like it had three years ago. "News flash," The shaman finally bit out coldly. "I'm not your son. If that were true, I would have put a bullet in my head long ago. You see, the thing is, after I was taken to the hospital for your skull bashing session, Doctor Stephen did all of that testing I had asked about a while back." Victor knelt down and prodded the gaping wound in Heart's leg with the knife, not flinching away when the man screamed in agony. "I found out some interesting info. My real mother is dead. My father doesn't exist. I have no family aside from my friends and Nicholas, your real son that you tried to kill. Oh, let's not forget that I'm also some freak experiment form some crack head's chemistry set. Who knows? Maybe I'm a prodigy!"

Vincent flinched mentally. _"Victor, you're losing control of yourself,"_ He whispered.

Victor instantly refrained and sent mental reassurance to his look-alike. Brushing off his previous tirade Vic switched the knife to his left hand and looked at Mike steadily. "It's time for you to repent for your sins. The Reaper is waiting for you on the other side." Without warning, Victor plunged the weapon into the man's heart.

_Soul wrought of terror corrupt…_

Blood splattered across his face when he ripped the knife out roughly. After that, he stabbed Mike again… and again. When he was done, Victor's arm was cramped and aching with muscle spasms. Mike Heart's body lay still and grotesquely limp on the cavern floor in front of him. Vincent sighed and began detaching himself from Victor's thoughts. _"What now, Victor? You got what you wanted, but you can't just leave him like this."_

Solemn brown eyes looked over the corpse in mild mourning. "No… Despite how much he deserves it, he was a good man once. He deserves better than nothing." Victor used his magic to open up the ground beneath Mike and allowed him to settle into it quietly. "Are you alright, Vincent?"

"_Yes, I'm fine. How about you?"_

"Peachy…" Victor picked up the Small hatchling and bundled it up in his coat while the other scurried up onto Vamp's rump and waited for the shaman expectantly. Victor hefted himself into the saddle and steered the Pegasus back the way they had come. The rain appeared to have stopped since entering the cavern and the moon was shining brightly. He cringed at the feeling of Mike's blood covering him, but the black hatchling distracted him with a series of squeaks and chibi growls as it fussed over the bundle in Victor's arms. "Let's get you guys fixed up," he whispered to them and spurred the winged Clydesdale into a trot. All the while, the "voice" of the teen's mother echoed in his conscience…

_Soul wrought of terror corrupt, my son…_

_Third time's the charm._

_You will see._


	8. 7: Quelling Impurity, Purging the Stream

Chapter 7: Quelling Impurity, Purging the Stream

Stars were showing brightly since leaving the cavern. Summer heat returned full force coupled with the thick humidity that the fresh rain had fueled. Victor grimaced as he trudged his way back to the castle. Blood clung to his skin and cloths and everything was just to laden with water to walk comfortably. What he really wanted to do was take a shower and lay back down with Tara, but the dragon hatchlings had to be tended to. The sharp clop of heavy hooves came up from behind and a massive horse muzzle plopped down on Victor's shoulder. _"Ow…" __**Oh, don't be such a pansy, **_Dwyer grumbled.

"You know, why the hell don't you both shut the fuck up. You sound like an old married couple." Victor rubbed the Clydesdale-Pegasus's cheek and leaned his temple against the beast. "I thought I put you in the stables." The animal's neck craned over his shoulder and nuzzled the little white dragon gently. "Easy boy… don't hurt her. Get back into the stables before sunrise or you'll be crispy." Vamp snorted at him and trotted back to his stable grudgingly. "Weirdo…" After seeing Vamp lope out of sight, Victor continued through the hanging gardens to the back steps.

Once inside, the shaman felt as though he could breathe again in the cool stone hallway, but only for a moment. "Do I dare ask where you have been, or should I just guess by the amount of blood that seems to have collected itself on you?" Jade stood to the side of the door he had just come through glaring accusingly. Her attire consisted of a cotton tank (most likely Vergil's) and black silk PJs, and her tri-colored hair was tied up in a half attempt at a ponytail.

"_She's kind of hot."_

_Vincent, I'm going to find a way to kick your ass if you don't stop with the goddamn smart ass comments. _"Not now, Jade."

"_What! I was just stating a fact!"_

"Yes, now…" She pushed off from the wall and looked him over again. "You killed him. You killed him by yourself and you're lying if you tell me otherwise."

Vincent snickered. _"Bossy, isn't she?"_

Victor rolled his eyes and clamped down tighter to the black hatchling that made to lunge at Jade. _She's the Princess of Vampires. What do you expect? _"Would the both of you just chill out?" he hissed. Jade frowned and leaned back against the wall while said dragon huffed and perched on Victor's shoulder. "Don't get too comfy, 'cause I'm sending you with her." The dragon gave a hiss and ducked behind his head. "Now, Jade, would you take him and get him cleaned up while I go downstairs and see if I can save this one. Send Vergil down while you're at it and don't tell Tara I'm home. She doesn't need to see me like this."

Jade gave a girlish giggle and held her arms out for the reptile. Hesitantly, the creature went to her and huddled up beneath her long cascade of hair. "You got it," She looked at the bloodied form in Victor's arms worriedly. "Do you want me to send him with the supplies?"

"Yes…" The shaman yanked open the basement door and hopped the railing of the spiral staircase. This earned another string of angry curses from Valentine, but Victor tuned him out. In the back room, he ran lukewarm water in the wash tub and added in a disinfecting agent from the potions cabinet. Without unwrapping her from his coat, he set the little dragoness into the tub gently. As soon as the water touched her skin, she gave a weak whimper and began to struggle feebly. "Looks like you still have some fight left in you after all," Victor whispered and untucked her from the thick material. She calmed a bit once she had his arm to support her and clung there silently. With his free hand he began washing the blood away and taking note of wounds.

The soft thump of thick rubber soles signaled the arrival of Victor's best friend who set the bag of medical supplies down on the surgical table and came over to peer into the tub indifferently. "You never ask for help with these sort of things." When there was no acknowledgment of his presence, Vergil looked down at the dragon and then back at the shaman's features. "I was not aware that you needed your shaman powers to heal an animal."

"Huh? Wait… Did you just call her an animal? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Victor's eyes flared red and settled on the hybrid.

Vergil held up his hands in defense and took a step back. "Easy, brother. No pun intended."

Crimson orbs narrowed on the white haired teen. "Right…" _**You really need to calm down.**_ "Shut up, Dwyer."

"_He's your brother?" _Vincent's inquiry was completely serious with a hint of shock.

Silence hovered between them for a little while. Vergil brushed off the quarrel as if it had never happened, beginning to remove various needed instruments and chemicals from the kit. _No, he's my best friend, but the bond is strong enough that we might as well be brothers._"What did you find in Silence Ventriloquism?"

"More than I expected…"

"I'm aware of that judging by your mood, but that is pretty vague even for me, Victor."

Victor finished cleansing the baby dragon and lifted it back out to pat it dry and set it down on the table. "Well… I found my mother's grave."

"And this troubles you?"

"More so than I thought it would." He tried to keep his head level and set to work stitching the creature's wounds. "There was a passage on her grave that said 'Soul wrought of terror corrupt. Quelling impurity, purging the stream. To beckon forth the ultimate fate, behold the mighty Chaos, Omega's squire to the lofty heavens.' Any input?"

The half breed was quiet for a moment digging through his brain. "… The Phoenix Elon Prophecy had that very passage. It was supposedly written by The Prophet of Aeons before the world as we know it ever existed. The very same prophet that predicted the evolution of man, putting into motion the creation of vampires thousands, if not millions of years before such evolution even began."

"Somehow I knew you would have an answer. What did the prophecy say?"

"Chaos is a destroyer created from the corruption of the lifestream, or in our case, the afterlife. The prophecy foretold of four of these very destroyers. A human, a vampire, a hybrid, and a harpy. It only depicted images of the chaos' themselves. Not of their general forms, so I couldn't tell you who they would be. They are supposed to open up a portal between two worlds and unite the rift between human's and immortals to fight against a great evil."

"And what sort of evil are we talking about?"

"The Harvester of Sorrow. The very beast that was sealed away beneath Lake Acanthus."

"But the only way to get to the harvester is through the castle itself…" Victor didn't like that thought, but pushed it aside to get back on track about his mother. "What happens when a Chaos dies?"

"That I don't know, Brother." Vergil admitted somberly. "So many questions and you haven't even told me why."

Victor sighed and set the tools down. "My mother's grave site. She's encased in crystal and looks like a demon, but demons don't hold a solid form usually when they die, right?"

"Most don't, but not all are like that. Many of those that carry a humanoid form die in that form. It also depends on the species though. It seems the older the species the quicker the decay process. Vampires are derived from an ancient demon race that allegedly no longer exists. A race of mage warriors that would turn to ash at the moment of death. Vampires carry that very same trait. Today it's hard to tell where any one demon comes from because the races are crossbred and so much of the old texts are lost. If it helps to answer any more of your questions better, Chaos was considered a demon in the prophecy, even though very little is known about their origins, and perhaps holds a solid form in death. Akasha keeps the old texts stored in a glass case at the back of the library."

"It does help, thank you. Wanna take care of a baby dragon?"

The look Vergil gave was probably one of the most disgusted. "When have you known me to be nurturing?"

"Point taken, but what are you going to do when a future wife demands children?" The disgusted look turned into as close to mortified as was possible for the Sparda son and caused Victor to chuckle. "Goodnight, brother."

Victor's room was oddly empty when he came back upstairs. He expected Tara to be nestled in his bed still hugging that pillow she liked so much, but she wasn't. The air smelt of hair dye and shower. He nestled the dragon in the lounge chair by his bed and went searching. His dyes were still neat, but they were out of order. _"Problem?"_

"Possibly…" he broke off the spell to send Vincent back to his own body and shut everything out of his mind. "Tara?" no response. On the bathroom counter was a pair of scissors and a mass of red hair in the trashcan. "No fucking way…"

"Yes way." A soft, playful voice came from behind and he felt arms slip up around his middle. "don't be mad. I wanted to try something new!"

When Victor turned in her embrace to get a look at her he was met with big green eyes and electric blue hair in a short bob cut with feather extensions. "You had help."

"I did. Crystal and Jade helped me."

"Why would they do that? You had gorgeous hair."

"You don't like it?" she frowned.

He chuckled and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "you'd make a bees nest look good. Let me hop in the shower and get cleaned up. Then we can go to be-"

"No," she purred. "We're going to bed now."

"What?"

"I want you just the way you are." Tara hopped up to wrap her legs around his waist and kissed him roughly.

She really didn't leave him any room to protest. He held her snug to him breaking their kiss to breath. "Babe, really we shouldn't…"

"Don't give me that. I need you, right now." She growled nipping his lip sharply.

The aggression she displayed made something snap inside of him and he backed her up against the door frame roughly growling in a dark tone. "Then bed we go." Victor moved quickly, tossing her on the bed and pinning her there. She smelt fresh and welcoming to him as he buried his face in her neck. Her body arched against his and enticed his growing darkness forcing rational thought out the window. Victor gripped the neckline of her shirt and ripped it open. The rest of the cloths followed in a similar fashion and his hands were moving skillfully over her exposed skin drawing wanting moans from her throat. For a harpy, she sure acted like a cat…

One moment she was enraptured with pleasure, the next she was tense and unsure as burning pain shot through her flesh. He was watching her, clearly calculating her reaction and waiting with his fingers buried deep in her. "Victor?"

His expression shifted from caution to affection and he leaned down to nuzzle her nose. "Just relax." He withdrew his fingers and replaced them with the evidence of his arousal. Patience was a virtue as he eased her into bliss because her virginity made the start a painful one. It wasn't long before he had her back with him, only each other existing in their current state. The pressure surged up through them both and made it difficult to breath. Once… twice.. she screamed in release and he sank his teeth into her neck.

She was fire.

She was pure.

She was his.

_Quelling impurity… Purging the stream…_


	9. 8: To Beckon Forth the Ultimate Fate

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Devil May Cry franchise or Final Fantasy VII.

A/N: Been quite a while since I've updated, but school, full time job and wedding plans will do that. There will be absolutely NO reference to DmC Reboot in this series or any other writings in my collection. Only the first through the fourth (minus dmc2) will be referenced.

Chapter 8: To Beckon Forth the Ultimate Fate

Down the empty halls, a black form pounced after a rat that had managed to sneak into the building. Pyro lifted his head from the floor to do a double-take of the scene. The creature stopped and looked at him as a possible playmate. The demon wolf sighed and lay back down. It, or he rather, was the dragon from the previous night already making itself at home in Azrael Castle. The little reptile squealed once he realized his toy was getting away and pounced off. Pyro sighed again and closed his eyes. He was getting too old for this.

* * *

The dragon pounced on the rat from above, misjudging his own strength. The rodent snapped and stopped moving. At first he cooed and nudged at the corpse trying to make it move. Once he realized the error, he sat back and pouted on his haunches. Then an idea spawned in his head. Quickly, he snatched up the dead rat and bounced down the hall like a ferret. At his destination, he hopped up on the handle of the door and wrestled it open. The younger, white dragon lifted her head and gave a weak squawk. She was still not well, but better than he last saw her. She limped to the edge of the chair and touched noses to him. He sat on the floor and tore off pieces of the rat to feed her.

* * *

Victor didn't wake up right away. It was not unusual for people to just walk in and out of your room here at the castle, so he didn't think anything of it. But, when the skittering sounds continued, he had a feeling it wasn't a person that came in his room. He sat up in bed and followed the sound with his eyes. Staring back at him from the chair by the fireplace was a pair of green and a pair of yellow eyes. The black dragon cocked his head to the side and chirped at him. Tara flinched in her sleep and pulled a pillow over her head. He glanced at her and slipped out of bed to find some cloths. If she was going to be cranky this morning, the dragons were going to have to go somewhere else.

"You moved…" Tara rolled over to watch him, still half asleep.

He looked up from the dresser. " I thought you were still sleeping."

"Till you moved." She sat up and rubbed the side of her neck looking a little puzzled. "Is there something on my neck?"

There was a long pause before Victor finally came back over and checked her. On the left side of her neck was a pale, bumpy scar in the shape of a jagged teeth marks. "I bit you?"

She grabbed his shirt from him and pulled it over her head as she walked over to the mirror to get a better look. "Gee, I didn't know you loved me that much."

"What?"

"It's not just a bite. It's a Mate's Mark."

"Mark?" he shook his head. "But I'm human.. That only applies to immortals."

"How human are you really, babe?" she turned and looked at him. "Face it, you mated me."

For a moment he just stared at her like she had grown an extra head. He didn't like the route this was going. How does one explain that he mated a 15-year-old? Granted, she is a Harpy and almost done aging anyway, but he still had human morals despite his questionable lineage. "Your parents are going to kill me."

"Highly unlikely. They adore you!"

"Tara, you're 15. I'm 17. We're not even out of high school yet."

"Stop thinking like a human. They were hoping for this. Maybe not this early… but it's done now. It can't be undone." Tara hugged around his middle trying to comfort him. "It will all be fine. Nothing says we have to get married right now. We can do that after I graduate."

Victor sighed and held on to her. Her optimism was almost endless. He was still concerned, but she had a way of defusing the situation. "I need to get those dragons out of here."

"Is that what that awful sound was?" she peeked around him and sure enough there they were minding their own business on the sofa. "Aww they're so cute! What happened to the little one?" she hurried over to them and knelt down to their level.

"Trogs." He found himself another shirt and pulled it on.

"Nasty buggers. Not even very good tasting." She picked the white dragon up and cradled her gently against her chest. She laid her head over Tara's shoulder lying like a lizard basking in a heat lamp. "She's cold."

"She's an ice dragon."

"And also a reptile." As if to fortify her statement, the black one bounced over by the fireplace where the coals were still hot and fanned out his wings catching the warmth.

"In my defense, you did derail my entire train of thought last night."

"I'll admit to that…"

The door creaked open and Vergil stepped just inside. "Victor."

"Vergil…?"

"The date's been set for your final test. You are one month away from being a Shadow Warrior. Should you succeed, that is."

"Trying to tell me I need to get my ass out there and train?" Vergil only smirked. "take that as a yes… Tara?"

"I've got the baby dragons covered. Go do what you do best."

* * *

"Alex… you've got to be fucking kidding me." The elder vampire grinned at Victor and sat on the side. "Those are Abyssals."

Alexander Curtis was good at what he did which was why they were here on the training grounds. "Glad to see you remembered your demonology lessons. They are caged Abyssals to be more specific. No threat unless I open the gate. If you continue to doubt yourself this way, you will never pass the test in a month's time." Alexander knocked on the iron bars and the creatures reached and hissed at him. "I have complete faith in your abilities, Victor. Otherwise I would have never taken you in as my apprentice."

Victor still looked skeptical but he nodded, "Thank you."

_I have your back._ Vincent stirred in the back of his mind. _It will be a learning experience for us both._

"Are you ready?" Victor only gave a curt nod and settled into a battle stance. Alexander didn't wait for last minute decision making. He ripped the seal off and the cage burst apart into heavy metal projectiles.

All of his evasive skills were put into dodging these and he nearly darted into the swipe of a scythe. _Watch it!_ The demon screeched and stalked towards his new location. "Thanks." Yamato burned in his grip as he drew the blade at the last possible second. The demon-forged metal sliced cleanly up through the torso and out at the shoulder, but this move left him open and the second demon knew this. It rushed through its deceased companion and slammed Victor in the chest.

Human as he was, Victor's ribs caved under the demon's attack and he hit the ground screaming. Alexander didn't make a move to help him. He even seemed to be enjoying the scene. Panic set in and color started distorting his vision as the remaining three demons closed in on him. _Victor get up! Come on, you can do this!_ Vincent mentally shook him and rattled in his mind relentlessly until a roar tore its way out of Victor's throat.

_**To beckon forth the ultimate fate, we are one…**_ Dwyer whispered in the back of his mind and suddenly his presence was gone.

Momentarily, all control was lost. He lurched up from the ground and attacked with his bare hands. The first demon didn't have time to react. Its heart was a black pulp in Victor's clenched fist. The last two looked at one another and turned tail to run. One toppled to the ground with a white demon on its back twisting its head around at an impossible angle then leapt across the training ground to the other Abyssal snarling, clawing and biting viciously. _Get a hold of yourself, Victor. What's wrong with you?_

Victor halted mid bite and stumbled away from the demon corps. "Wha-what am I doing?" He looked at his hands, but they were mutated into frosty white digits with sharp black talons on the ends. "What's happening?!" Alexander came up to him and he instinctively swat him away with the back of his wing growling low. "You… you were going to let me die."

Alex recovered quickly and stayed out of reach this time. "Not die. Defeat is an important lesson. And look where it lead you!" he indicated Victor's new form.

This so called lesson didn't convince Victor in the slightest nor Vincent. "…I don't trust you. Just… stay away from me. I'll train on my own."

"You're making a mista-"

"We're done talking." He scooped up Vergil's devil arm and walked out of the grounds. Alexander only stared after him with mild curiosity and bitterness.

* * *

Vergil knew Victor was on his way back from the text he received, but he wasn't expecting what showed up on his doorstep. He could definitely see it was Victor's face, but the form he took was demonic in appearance. "Your training either went quite well or horribly wrong." Victor narrowed his eyes and handed Yamato back as he brushed past. "Victor?"

"Don't let that fucker near me again."

"Horribly wrong then." He closed the door behind his friend and followed him into the bathroom where Victor walked into the shower as he was to try and wash the demon blood off from him. Vergil didn't say anything at first, only observing the change. The facial features were human and exclusively Victor Heart, but that's really where it ended. The eyes were a glowing gold color and lines in the face also glowed from within like cracks in a porcelain doll. His skin took on the color of fresh snow and his cloths had morphed into tarnished plates of armor over his body. The right arm was plated from shoulder to razor sharp tips on the fingers. His hair was swept back into thick black spikes like shards of obsidian. "So you've become Chaos."

"Sure, we'll go with that." Victor grabbed a towel and started blotting off the water.

"Mind telling me what happened?"

"Alexander trying to get me killed is a good start."

Vergil looked genuinely concerned now. "Killed?"

"That bastard was going to let me get mutilated by a pack of Abyssals. My ribs were broken. Pretty much all of them. And he was smiling… wasn't going to do a thing. Then I turned into _this._" He pointed at himself in disdain.

"That's not like Alex…"

"No shit Sherlock."

"I resent that." Vergil glared and stepped aside.

Dante came around the corner and did a double take. "…Victor?" this earned him an eye roll and he made a quick recovery. "I'm headed back up to see the girls. Wanna come?"

When there was no response, Vergil swat Victor in the back of the knee with his scabbard. "Ouch! Yes, fine."

"Cool. Let's roll."

* * *

On the way back to the castle, Vincent was playing 20 questions inside Victor's head. _Alexander is a real asshole… What's his problem?_

_I wish I knew. He's always been egotistical, but never a sadist. I don't like the vibe I'm getting from him lately._ Victor inspected his hands closely.

_What do you mean?_

_He's… different. Something's not right._ There was a long pause as annoyance set in._ You know... The only thing missing from this conversation is when and where._

_I can come up with them if you'd like._

_No._ The car came to a slow stop and the brothers got out first to smooth things over before Victor could pull the shock treatment on the girls. Tara slipped past them and got in the car. "Baby, are you alright?" He shook his head. "Come inside with me. You don't have to talk if you don't want to. We can just sit." For a moment he looked like he might tell her no, but then he nodded and allowed her to take his arm. Victor didn't look anyone in the eye on the way through and wouldn't even look at his young mate after they reached the privacy of his room. "Victor, it's not that bad. You're still hot to me."

That finally pulled a chuckle out of him and bowed his head. "Thanks."

"Any time." She nestled into his arms just like she would before he transformed. "It doesn't matter what you are. We are all going to love you just the same."

"I know that."

"Um… not to throw the conversation off track, but where is Dwyer? I can't feel him. Like… he's gone. You feel like you did before he was around."

So much had gone on that it never really occurred to him that Dwyer wasn't being his demented self. _Vincent?_

_I'm here. And yes. He's gone. He said something really weird right before you went berserk. Then he was just gone._

_What did he say?_

"_To beckon forth the ultimate fate, we are one."_

…_What on Earth?_

"Baby?" Victor shook his head and looked down at her. "Thought I lost you there for a moment."

"No. Doing a mental inventory. It's kind of like he just packed up and left. There's nothing there."

"That's really weird. I got so used to him floating around in your head."

"Comforting…"

"Hey. It's not like I enjoyed sharing you. That's gross."

"Gutter much?"

"Baby, I've got a permanent address there." She pulled his head down to her for a kiss.

_What the hell is Earth?_

_Go back to your corner._

_Whatever man. Just a question._


End file.
